‘Ultimate Goal is to Produce 1,000 Wagons Per Month’
On strategies for business expansion and augmenting your order book
The Indian wagon procurement sector can be distinctly categorised into two primary streams: Indian Railways and the private sector comprising wagon leasing companies and end users. Currently, Jupiter Wagons boasts a robust order book extending over the next three years, with approximately 60 per cent of our manufacturing capacities already booked. Notably, the remaining 40 per cent is reserved for fulfilling commitments to the Indian Railways. Furthermore, we are strategically increasing our wagon production capacity to reach a target of 10,000 wagons per year by the next fiscal.
On quarterly performance and plans for the fiscal
Our company's business performance has remained robust, with reported revenues of Rs 75,319 lakh, marking a remarkable 155 per cent YoY growth. Profit after tax surged to Rs 6,360 lakh, a whopping 374 per cent YoY increase. In terms of production, we scaled up significantly from 526 wagons in Q1 FY23 to 1,713 wagons in Q1 FY24. Our order book stood at Rs 6,200 crore at the end of Q1 FY24, compared to Rs 5,800 crore in the previous quarter. We are on track to deliver on our guidance of achieving a monthly production rate of 550-600 wagons. Furthermore, we have revised our guidance to reach 800 wagons per month by the end of FY24 and our ultimate goal is to achieve a production rate of 1,000 wagons per month by the end of FY25.
On international business and partnership with RITES
We have made significant strides in the global market for freight wagons through our partnership with RITES, participating in global tenders in Zimbabwe and Mozambique involving approximately 620 freight wagons, which are in the final stages of completion. Our intention is to uphold the MoU with RITES and expect an export order for roughly 1,000 freight wagons by the close of the calendar year 2024.
On challenges that the industry must address
The production of each wagon requires approximately 8-10 tonne of alloyed steel and plastics. Therefore, for a production target of 1,00,000 wagons, we would require an alloyed steel foundry capacity of one million tonne. Similarly, the same volume of wagons would demand 4,00,000 axles and 8,00,000 wheels. It's important to acknowledge that these challenges are not transient; they are likely to persist for the next few years unless we make substantial investments in building adequate capacities.
